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Make an escape plan

When you make an escape plan, you should involve everyone who lives in your home, including children, older people and lodgers.

Choose an escape route

• the best escape route is your normal way in and out of your home
• think of any difficulties you may have getting out, for example in the middle of the night
• choose a second escape route, in case the first one is blocked
• keep both escape routes clear of obstructions
• if there are older people or children in the household, plan the order you'd escape in, so that if you have to go out of a window you can help them down

Think about a refuge

If you can't escape, you will need to find one room to take refuge in - this is particularly important if you have difficulty moving around or going down stairs on your own

Make sure everyone knows where you keep door and window keys

Decide where the keys to doors and windows should be kept, and always keep them there. Everyone in your household should know the location – remember to tell visitors who are staying overnight

Make sure everyone knows what to do

As part of making your plan, go through all the points about what to do in a fire – you can find them by following the link below. You could also consider:

• putting your address by the phone so that children can read it out to the emergency services
• putting a reminder of what to do in a fire somewhere prominent -  like on the door of the fridge – where it will be seen regularly

If you have extra fire equipment, like extinguishers or fire blankets, you should also make sure that everyone knows where they are and how to use them.

• Fire emergency equipment - fire blankets, extinguishers and sprinklers

Practise the plan

Make sure you have "walked through" the plan with everyone in your household. Regularly remind everyone of what to do and what not to do in a fire.

A complete plan

A full fire safety plan covers more than just what to do when there is a fire. It covers prevention and detection, too. Follow the links above and below to find out more about fire safety around your home, the use of fire emergency equipment and a list of top safety tips.

• Fire safety in the home - everyday guidance
• A quick guide to fire safety - top tips and bedtime checks

High-rise escape

Living above the first floor doesn't make you any more at risk from fire. Most of your planning should be the same as homes at ground level, but there are some key differences:

• high-rise flats are built to be fire-proof - walls, ceilings and doors will hold back flames and smoke; if there's a fire elsewhere in the building, you're usually safest in your own flat unless heat or smoke is affecting you
• you will not be able to use the lift if there is a fire, so you should choose an escape route which takes this into account
• it’s easy to become confused in the dark, so count how many doors you will need to go through to get to the stairs when you can’t use the lift
• make sure stairways and fire escapes are kept clear of all obstructions and that fire doors are never locked – regularly check that you can open the doors to stairways or escapes from both sides

More useful links

• Fire prevention
• Fire safety advice for parents and child carers (parents section)
• Fire safety for children - Directgov Kids animation and slideshow Opens new window